Instead of joining jackaroos and farmhands in the rowdy atmosphere of the Mitchell rodeo, Prince Harry threatened to end his Queensland country experience prematurely yesterday.

Indeed, some reports said he already had, with an early morning flight from Roma Airport.

Sick of prying cameras which prevented him experiencing the jackaroo's life, Prince Harry was said to have bailed up inside Tooloombilla Station while an escape plan and alternative arrangements for his stay in Australia were hatched.

But hours later, as reporters including one from Fleet Street, left the area, a spokesman for Queensland Premier Peter Beattie maintained he was still on the property.

With his gap-year tour of the outback turning into pure farce, the prince came in search of action and adventure. Instead, his minders said, he found it sitting inside watching videos, a prisoner of media scrutiny.

"I've got a young man in there in pieces," Mark Dyer, the senior aide who arranged Harry's visit, told British reporters on Friday.

Fleet Street correspondent Frank Thorne quoted Mr Dyer as saying: "He can't do his job as a jackaroo, he can't go out, he can't even muster cattle in the yards near the road without having his photo taken."

The last straw appears to have been the aborted trip to Mitchell rodeo yesterday, called off because of the expected extent of media coverage.

Annie and Noel Hill, the Australian couple hosting the prince on their 16,600-hectare property north west of Roma, were upset Harry couldn't do his job as a jackaroo, Thorne said.

"He couldn't move out of the property and he was saying, 'What is the point in me being here if I can't do what I came here to do?'. He was a prisoner on the property. He was basically saying, 'I may as well go home'," Thorne added.

In London, senior royal aides confirmed the threat of a pull out existed, blaming "intolerable" media attention and saying it might force Prince Harry to cut short his three-month Australian adventure.

Colleen Harris, press secretary to the Prince of Wales, said that unless Harry was left alone, the rest of his visit might be in jeopardy.

She told The Times newspaper: "He's gone to the outback to acquire new trades and have new experiences, but if he's hindered by the media and it's disruptive to his work on the farm, then we will have to look at the options."

Asked if this could mean Harry making an early return to Britain, Miss Harris replied: "It's not at that stage yet, but it's a plea to the media to give him a bit of space."

Prince Charles's office issued a statement on Thursday calling for the media to withdraw so Harry could be allowed to continue his stay in privacy.

Yesterday, the Queensland government issued a denial that the Prince had fled, though no one was sure where he was.

A spokesman for Mr Beattie said: "as at 1.30, he is still on the property".

But the Daily Mail warned of the implications of Harry quitting, saying it could backfire with the Australian media bound to label him a "whingeing Pom".

One royal insider told the newspaper: "I hope they know what they are doing.

"If Harry walks out he could be tagged a quitter, just as Prince Edward has for walking out on the Royal Marines all those years ago. He should stick it out."

Locals were disappointed by suggestions of Harry's early departure.

"Apparently he's coming back once the media goes away," said local motel owner Nick Campion. "Most of us here are really annoyed because it would have brought lots of people in. If he'd just let the media take one photo the media would have pissed off."

Lib McEwan, wife of Injune Hotel licensee John McEwan, blamed the media for jeopardising the prince's stay. "I think our locals are starting to get a bit defensive because they're feeling sorry for him," she said.